1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural harvesters, and, more particularly, to crop material elevators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Combines are used to harvest agricultural crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and other grain crops. As the combine is driven through crop fields, the combine cuts the crop, separates the desired crop from the undesired waste, stores the crop, and discards the waste.
In a typical combine, a header is mounted to the front of the combine to gather the crop and feed the crop into the combine for processing. As the combine is driven through the field, the crop material is collected by the header and deposited into a feeder housing. The crop material is then transported upwardly and into the combine by a feed elevator located within the feeder housing. The crop material then passes through a threshing and separating mechanism. In a rotary combine, the threshing and separating mechanism includes a rotor, a threshing concave, a rotor cage, and a separating grate. As crop material passes between the rotor, the threshing concave and the separating grate, the crop material is impacted and/or rubbed, thereby causing the grain to separate from the stalk material. The stalk material that is separated from the grain is commonly referred to as material other than grain (MOG). Other types of combines are also known that perform similar functions using different mechanisms.
After passing through the threshing and separating assembly, the grain and MOG are deposited onto a grain cleaning system. The grain cleaning system of a typical combine includes a plurality of adjustable cleaning sieves, often referred to as a chaffer sieve and a shoe sieve. The sieves are typically reciprocated back and forth in opposite directions along an arcuate path. This motion has the tendency to separate the grain from the MOG. To further separate the grain from the MOG, a cleaning fan or blower is positioned so as to blow air up through the cleaning sieves. This flow of air tends to blow the MOG, which is typically lighter than grain, rearwardly and out the back of the combine. Grain, which is heavier than MOG, is allowed to drop through the openings in the sieve.
The clean grain that falls through the cleaning sieves is deposited on a collection panel positioned beneath the cleaning sieves. The collection panel is angled so as to permit the grain to flow, under the influence of gravity, into an auger trough positioned along the lowermost edge of the collection panel. The auger trough is typically positioned near the forward end of the cleaning sieves and extends along the width of the sieves. The grain collected in the auger trough is then moved by an auger towards the side of the combine where it is raised by a grain elevator and deposited into a storage tank or grain tank. Other systems also exist that can utilize, for example, a loop conveyor system which eliminates the need for a conventional cross auger.
During transportation of cleaned crop material through the elevator, peak loads are exerted on paddles of the elevator when the paddles travel through head and boot portions of the elevator. The peak loads are due to maximal acceleration forces that arise as the paddles transition from a linear motion to a rotational motion to switch between upward and downward movement in the elevator. These peak loads are transmitted through the paddles to a driving loop of the elevator, which can be a chain or other similar construction. The peak loads decrease the life of the elevator chain and result in accelerated wear rates in the head and boot portion. Previous attempts to reduce these peak loads have focused on increasing the clearance between the paddles of the elevator and a bottom of the boot portion, allowing a grain layer to form between the boot portion and paddles. While this modification may reduce the loads exerted on the paddles, the peak loads exerted on the paddles are still relatively high and the modification also increases the possibility for grain being left in the elevator that can stagnate. Another modification to decrease the peak loads on the driving loop has involved symmetrically increasing the clearance between the boot portion and the paddles. This modification sacrifices ground clearance to reduce the peak loads on the driving loop to a level that is still relatively high.
What is needed in the art is a crop material elevator that experiences lowered peak loads on the paddles and overcomes some of the previously described disadvantages.